Objectives of Taekwondo

• To achieve physical fitness through positive participation
• To improve mental discipline and emotional equanimity
• To learn self-defense skills
• To develop a sense of responsibility for one self and others
• To develop an appreciation for Taekwondo as a sport and as an art
  

Taekwondo Briefly Explained

Taekwondo is a combat sport that uses only bare hands and feet, no weaponry, to fend off attackers. Due to its numerous unique kicks, each with many variations, many people call Taekwondo the "kicking martial art." This is not to say that Taekwondo does not use hand techniques; it uses the same basic hand techniques used in other martial arts, which makes it a well-rounded empty-handed martial art. Over the last few decades, sport Taekwondo organizations have worked together to develop Taekwondo into a modern international amateur and Olympic sport, while maintaining its proud tradition as a martial art spirit.

The Value of Taekwondo

Taekwondo has practical value as a martial art, a self-defense system, and as a competitive sport. It also has ideological value, based upon its technical, artistic, and philosophic ideals. The technical ideal is derived from Taekwondo's stress on performing techniques with technical perfection. The artistic ideal derives from personal expression while performing Taekwondo techniques. The philosophic ideal is attained when the technical and artistic aspects of Taekwondo bring balance and harmony to ones daily life. The ultimate value of Taekwondo is attained when the practitioner becomes aware of changes or threats in his or her environment and is able to effortlessly and properly react to them. This state of mind becomes possible through the mastery of a broad range of offensive and defensive Taekwondo skills.

Taekwondo as a Life Leveler

Taekwondo is a life leveler. It evens out attitudes, emotions, and actions. If you are short-tempered, it makes you more tolerant. If you are aggressive, it makes you calmer. If you are meek, it makes you more assertive. If you are anti-social, it makes you more friendly. If you are weak, it makes you stronger. If you are impulsive, it makes you more restrained. These changes will occur slowly so you may not notice them, but your friends and family will notice the changes.

The above passages have been quoted (in slightly changed order) with the kind permission of the TKD Tutor.